Track sander



W. H. WHITE Nov. 8, 1938.

'TRACK SANDER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Feb. 8, 1934 W. H. WHITENov. 8, 1938.

TRACK SANDER Original Filed Feb. 8, 1934 y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .RessuedNov. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRACK SANDER William H. White,Roanoke, Va., assignor to Morris B. Brewster Co. Inc., Chicago, Ill.

3 Claims.

One object of the invention is to provide a track sanding apparatus ofthe type under consideration in which the casing embodies a. pair ofserially connected passages for delivering fluid under pressure throughthe outlet duct for cleaning purposes and these passages are formed in amember which is formed integrally with, and as a part of, the lowerportion of the discharge end of the casing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a track sanding apparatusof the type and character hereunder consideration in which the outletend of the casing embodies integral means forming a pocket forpermitting a portion of the sand in the casing to pack therein and toform a surface for deflecting the moving sand in the casing into theoutlet duct.

A further object of the invention is to provide a track sandingapparatus which includes a novel automatic valve for effecting supply ofuid under pressure to the cleaning passages during the initial flow offluid under pressure to the nozzle.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a track sandingapparatus which includes a novel control device for the fluid forsanding and cleaning.

In addition it is contemplated as one of the objects of the invention toprovide a track sanding apparatus which is generally of new and improvedconstruction and is extremely eiiicient in operation.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages andcharacteristics of the present track sanding apparatus will appear froma consideration of the following detailed description.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of the presentspecification or disclosure and in which like numerals of referencedenote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a sanding apparatus embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective of the supplemental valve of the controllingdevice; and

Figure 4 is a section illustrating a modified form of the invention.

The track sanding apparatus which forms the subject of the invention isadapted for use with a locomotive and comprises an elongated,horizontally extending casing 6. The latter is provided at one end withan inlet duct 9 which is connected to a pipe 5 by means of a nipple 1and union 8. This pipe 5 leads from the usual sand box on top of theboiler of the locomotive to the casing 6 and serves to deliver sand intoa trap conduit II! in the casing. Adjacentthey other end of the casing,an obliquely or downwardly extending outlet duct I I is formed and adischarge pipe I2 is connected to this duct and extends to the pointadjacent the rail where the sand is to be delivered. A housing I3 isformed integrally with the casing and extends inwardly from the wall ofthe casing B which closes the inlet end of the casing. This. housingprojects into the trap conduit I0 and has a duct I4 through which iluidunder pressure is discharged into said conduit l0 to force the sand fromthe casing through the outlet duct I I and the discharge pipe I2. Anozzle comprises a pipe I5a which extends into the duct I4 and a nippleI5 in which the pipe is fixedly secured. The nipple I5 is screw-threadedinto the wall of the casing 6 and is connected to a pipe I8 by means ofa nipple I'I and coupling I6. This nipple I5 is formed with a restrictedorifice for delivering a jet of fluid under pressure into the trapconduit. The fluid un-der pressure is supplied tothe pipe I8 ashereinafter set forth. The housing I3 projects into the trap conduit ofthe casing a suflicient extent so that when the pipe and nipple parts ofthe nozzle are removed for cleaning or replacement, the sand in the trapchamber will not ilow out of the casing through the duct III. A cleaningplug I Ilab is threaded into the casing 6 below the housing I3 and acleaning plug Il]b is threaded into the casing above said housing. Theseplugs, when removed, permit any material which clogs the casing to beremoved.

A pocket Illc is' formed in the discharge end of the casing G oppositethe point of the delivery of the uid by the nozzle. This pocket, asindicated at Id, will be packed with sand so that the blast from thenozzle and the sand carried thereby, will be impacted against the sandpacked in the pocket and deflected do-wnwardly to the discharge pipe I2without subjecting to wear the cross wall at the discharge end of thecasing 6.

A horizontal passage I9 extends inwardly from the discharge end of thecasing and joins an oblique passage 20. These two passages serve todischarge. fluid for cleaning the discharge pipe downwardly in andsubstantially axially of discharge pipe I2. Fluid under pressure isdelivered to the passage I9 by a pipe 2l as hereinafter set forth. Thepassages I9, 20 are formed in a member which is formed as an integralportion of the casing 6, and is arranged so that itl overlies a portionof the duct and forms the bottom of the pocket Ille. By reason of thefact that the passage extends downwardly in a line substantiallyparallel with the discharge pipe |2, the flow of the cleaning fluid doesnot cross or retard the stream of sand and the fluid used for forcingthe sand in its passage to the discharge pipe.

A device for automatically controlling the delivery of fluid to the pipe2| comprises a casing in the lower portion of which a valve 25 isslidably mounted. This Valve is normally closed by a spring 21 and isadapted to close against a seat 28. A pipe 29 delivers fluid underpressure from a reservoir to the chamber below the valve so that whensaid valve is open, the fluid will pass to the pipe 2| and thence to thecleaning passages I3 and 20. In practice, it is desired to controlautomatically the ow of fluid to the cleaning passages so that the fluidwill be delivered into the discharge pipe I2 for a limited period toclear the pipe at the beginning of each sanding operation. For thispurpose, a cylinder 3U is formed in the upper portion of casing 25 and apiston 3| is slidably fitted in said cylinder. This piston has a stem 32which is guided in the lower portion of the casing 25 and is adapted toabut against the upper end of the stem of the valve 26 to open saidvalve. A pipe 24 which is connected to a control device in the cab ofthe locomotive, as hereinafter set forth, is adapted to deliver fluidunder pressure to the upper end of the cylinder 30 and above the piston3| so that the upper end of said piston will be exposed to the pressureof fluid in the top of the cylinder. Pipe I8 which leads to the sandingnozzle is also connected to the upper end of the cylinder 30. Thecapacity of the pipe 24 is somewhat greater than that of the pipe |8 sothat a differential pressure will be created in the upper end of thecylinder to cause the piston to be slowly forced downwardly to open thevalve 26 at the beginning of each sanding operation. As the flow offluid continues through the upper end of the cylinder 30, the pistonwill be gradually forced downward. The lower end of the stem 32 of thepiston 3l is provided with a valve 33 which is adapted to fit against aseat 34 between the pipes 2| and 29. As a result, after a limited periodof sanding, the supply of fluid through pipe 2| to the cleaning ductwill be automatically cut oi by the pressure-operated valve 33. When thesupply of fluid under pressure through pipe 24 is discontinued, thespring 21 will lift valves 26, 33 and piston 3| to cut off the supply offluid to the cleaning duct at the valve 26. This automatic means forcontrolling the fluid for cleaning exemplifies one which is included inthe pipe line between the control device in the cab and the sandingnozzle so that a single pipe line serves to deliver fluid under pressureto the sanding nozzle and to control automatically the fluid forcontrolling the valve for the cleaning line.

The improved control device comprises a casing 36 which may, if desired,be provided with duplicate dew'ces for controlling two sanding devicesfrom a single control lever although it is to be understood that it isadapted for use with a single sanding device. The lower portion of thecasing 36 is provided with a chamber 31 to which fluid under pressure isdelivered by a pipe 23 from the usual supply reservoir. A valve 38 isslidably mounted in the casing and adapted to close against a seat 39. Aspring 40 holds valve 38 normally closed.y 'I'he casing has formed inits upper portion above the valve seat, a cylindrical extension 4| intoone side of which the pipe 24 for delivering fluid to the sander isconnected. A hollow supplemental valve 42 with a closed top is slidablyfitted in the cylinder 4|.

Valve 38 is provided with a stem 43 which extends upwardly to the topwall of the valve 42 so that the valve 38 will be shifted downwardlywhen the supplemental valve is shifted. A wedge-shaped opening 44 isformed in one side of the valve 42 which, when said valve is shifteddownwardly, will move into registry with the pipe 24. From its lower endthe opening 44 is of gradually and progressively increasing width sothat the volume of the fluid permitted to pass through pipe 24 may beaccurately controlled and regulated or graduated by the extent ofmovement of the valve 42. As a result, when the valve 44 is `shifteddownwardly, valve 38 which permits a free flow of fluid will beinitially opened and the position of the opening 44 in valve 42,according to the extent to which it is lowered, will determine thevolume of the flow through the pipe 24 to the sander. A key-pin (seeFig. 1) extends into a longitudinal groove inthe sideof valve 42 (seeFig. 3), to prevent rotation of the valve.

A lever 45 is pivoted at 4E to an upwardly extending lug 41 on thecasing 36 and a notched quadrant 48 is formed on said lug. The lever 45is provided with a spring pressed locking linger 49 which is adapted tohold the lever 45 in its assigned position. Lever 45 is provided with anarm 50 which is adapted to engage a plunger 5| which extends through apacking box on the top of the casing 36 to shift the supplemental valve44 and the valve 38. The valves 38 and 42 are duplicated to control twosanding devices through shifting of the lever to one side or the otherof its neutral position. By shift of the lever 45, the extent of movingthe supplemental valve 42 may be varied to a nicety to control thevolume of fluid to the sender to deliver the desired amount of sand tothe track. The area of the piston 3| which is exposed to the pressure ofthe fluid from the pipe 24 is suflicient to insure the operation of thevalves 28 and 33 of the device for cleaning the discharge pipe l2, underthe minimum or maximum volumetric flow of the fluid to the sandingnozzle through pipe |8.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figure 4 a pipe 24aleads from the control device in the cab to the upper end of a casing26'c1 and a pipe Il!ab leads from said casing to the sanding nozzle. Thelower end of casing 26* is screw-threaded into the casing 6a whichcontains the trap conduit Ill. A duct 20a, axially aligned with thedischarge pipe l2, is adapted to deliver fluid through the casing 6ainto the discharge pipe |2 for cleaning out the latter.- A valve seat 2Bis formed in casing 2lia and a duct 2li)a leads from the valve seat tothe duct 20a. A piston 3|aL is slidably mounted in casing 25a' andcarries at its lower end a valve 33a which is adapted to engage the seat28a to cut off the supply of fluid to the cleaning duct 20a. A bypassduct 6U is formed in the casing 26a and extends around the piston 3Ia.In the operation of this device the initial delivery of uid to pipe 24afrom the controlling device in the cab will exert pressure on the upperend of the piston Sla, and the fluid will flow through by-pass 60 aroundthe piston and through duct 29a to the duct 20a. As the pressure buildsup in the top of the casing 2lia the piston will move downwardly andcause the valve 33a to close on the seat 28#L and automaticallydiscontinue the supply of fluid to the cleaning ducts. 'This valve willremain closed thereafter until the control device is set to discontinuethe sanding operation. The spring Z'lEL will then lift piston 3!EL andvalve 33a until the control device is again set to operate the sander.This construction exemplifies one in which the automatically controlleddevice for cleaning the fluid is located in the pipe line ben tween thecontrol device in the cab and the sander nozzle and the fluid forcleaning the discharge pipe is also supplied through the single pipeline from the cab.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the particulardetails set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of theappended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Havingv thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In sanding apparatus of the character described, the combination ofan elongated, horizontally extending casing provided with an inlet ductfor sand, a downwardly extending outlet duct and a cross wall outwardlyof the outlet duct at its other end, and a longitudinally extendingtrap-conduit between the two ducts, a discharge pipe connected to saidoutlet duct, a nozzle at said one end of the casing for dischargingfluid under pressure into the trap conduit to force sand through theoutlet duct, and means for cleaning the discharge pipe with fluid underpressure comprising a member formed integrally with, and as a part of,the lower portion of said other end of the casing and having ahorizontal inlet passage for the iiuid leading through the cross walland a discharge passage leading downwardly from the inner end of theinlet passage and arranged to discharge the fluid into andlongitudinally of the discharge pipe, said member being arranged so thatit overlies the rear portion of the outlet duct of the casing and formswith said cross wall and the other portions of said other end of thecasing a pocket for permitting a portion of the sand in the casing topack therein and to deflect into the outlet duct the sand moved by thefluid under pressure from the nozzle.

2. Inv sanding apparatus of the character described, the combination ofa casing having an inlet duct for sand, an outlet duct for sand, and atrap-conduit between the inlet and outlet ducts, a nozzle in the casingfor discharging fluid into the trap-conduit to force sand through theoutlet duct, a discharge pipe for conducting the sand from said outletduct to the point of use, a passage in the casing for delivering fluidto clean the discharge pipe, a remote control device connected toreceive uid under pressure from a source of supp-ly, a pipe connectionbetween the control device and the nozzle for delivering uid to thetrap-conduit, and means in said connection for automatically controllingthe delivery of fluid to the cleaning passage comprising a valve casingthrough which iiuid passes in transit from the control device to thenozzle, having an outlet leading to the cleaning passage, a normallyopen valve for controlling the flow of fluid through the casing outlet,a piston in the casing for shifting the valve into its closed positionwhen fluid passes through the casing in transit from the control devicesof the nozzle, and a by-pass for fluid formed in the valve casing, fordelivering fluid to the casing outlet for delivery to the cleaningpassage when the valve is open.

3. In sanding apparatus of the character described, the combination of afirst casing having an inlet duct for sand, an outlet duct for sand, anda trap-conduit between the inlet and the outlet duct, a nozzle in saidfirst casing for discharging fluid under pressure into the trap-conduitto force sand through the outlet duct, and a device for controlling thedelivery of fluid to said nozzle comprising a second casing providedwith a chamber connected to receive fluid under pressure from a sourceof supply and also provided with an extension having a bore with one endthereof leading to and communicating with the chamber and a lateraloutlet at its other end connected t0 deliver fluid to the nozzle, avalve at said one end of the bore for controlling the flow of fluid fromthe chamber to the bore, a hollow sleeve-type valve through which thefluid flows from the bore to the outlet, said sleevetype valve beingslidably mounted in'the bore and spaced from said rst mentioned valveand having a wedge-shaped side opening adapted in response to shift ofthe sleeve-type valve to control the amount or volume of fluid flowingthrough the sleeve-type valve to the outlet and means for conjointlyopening and closing the two valves, said side opening being arranged sothat first the small end thereof and then the large end is brought intoregistry with the outlet in response to progressive opening of thesleeve-type valve.

WILLIAM H. WHITE.

